Friday, June 16, 2006

One of the first choices you are faced with in Warcraft is what server to roll on. My first character, a warrior, was on a PvP server--mainly because other friends were playing there--then Coriel was made on a PvE server, and recently I've been levelling a warlock on the PvP server.

I have a kind of love-hate relationship with world PvP. Before I started playing WoW, I used to be a pretty hard-core PvP type of guy, even to the point of advocating perma-death. After all, if there are no consequences, what is the point of playing in a persistent world? Now, however, I've moved far away from that position, and probably into the "carebear" side of things.

In my view, a PvP server offers much higher highs, but also much lower lows.

My single favorite memory of WoW is a world PvP memory. My warrior and a priest friend were around level 30 and adventuring in Durnholde Keep in Hillsbrad at night. A level 30 rogue snuck up behind me, sapped me, and attacked the priest. She killed the priest, and I came out of the sap and charged her. She took off, leaping from roof to roof on the buildings in the Keep. We had a crazy, moonlit chase, jumping across rooftops, which ended when I mistimed a jump and fell off a roof, allowing her to make her escape.

But I remember thinking to myself, as I was leaping, that this was awesome. It was a good fight, against a skilled opponent of the same level. The chase was like something from a movie. This was an encounter that simply could not happen on a PvE server.

But then you have to balance that experience against all the times a 60 rogue has decloaked inside a town and slaughtered me. And then proceeded to corpse camp my body. Higher highs, but lower lows.

A PvE server on the other hand, is much more restful. On a PvP server, you always have to have your guard up, watching for the enemy. It's a very tiring playstyle. Sometimes it is nice to be able to quest in peace. As well, I like concentrating on one task at a time, and PvP interrupts that, making it annoying. Finally, a fair fight on a PvP server is rare, and something to be treasured. Realistically, the vast majority of world PvP consists of a high level character ganking a low level character.

So if I had to chose between a PvE or PvP game, I'd probably choose to play the PvE game. But I'm glad that WoW offers the choice.

Posted by
Rohan

8 comments:

I think you really nailed it when you said a PVE server is more restful. I cant really see myself going to a PVE server. I need that constant threat that there might be evil horde just waiting for me to land at the gryphon master. It is part of WOW for me. I once looked when my wife was playing.. on a pve server.. she was killing stuff in Astraanar and right beside her was an undead warlock busy with his own killing.. was wierd to see.

The thing is that it is constant threat combined with resigned fatalism. I've never hit 60 on a PvP server, but when levelling its a hard combination for me personally.

There might be evil Alliance waiting at the flight point, so I'm in suspense, but I know that, if they are there, they are probably level 60 and will kill me anyways. So you combine the constant threat with the knowledge that it is extremely unlikely that I would be able to do anything about the threat, it's a playstyle that I cannot really sustain.

If I had more of a chance in World PvP, I suspect that I would like it a lot more. So I'm sort of looking forward to level 60.

I levelled up a Hunter to 45 or so on an RP realm. It got a little routine. I didn't really worry about the quests, nor about grouping with others. But something was missing. I thought it was the PvP part.

I then levelled up a Rogue to 42 or so on a new PvP realm. That was exciting. But I was also forced to make some friends and group together. (And I had to have someone to share my victories with.) And we were doing okay.

For reasons I can't remember, a group of us headed over to a new PvP server and created some Horde 'toons. There I did every quest and made some good friends.

I first did most of the quests on a PvP server because XP had become so precious. One couldn't just idly grind anywhere. Move in, do the quest, move on. Don't stand still. Ever. Sharks never stop, dead meat does. Don't be dead meat and keep moving.

I encouraged my wife to get into the game. And encouraged her to join me on the PvP server. Big mistake. I couldn't bear to watch her get slaughtered by Alliance punks.

We've since created a stable of characters on another RP server. It's nice, peaceful, and with so much experience in the game, I know to do the quests, I have company doing them, and we enjoy it.

I think the trick to playing on a PvP server is to start a character on a new server so that you are on equal footing with everyone on the server from the start. And then never stop, always keep moving.

The one thing I don't like about PvE is how you can choose to flag or not. This leads a similar unfair infuriating occurance known as bluerushing or bluewalling. On my priest I often get accidentally flagged because I run around buffing and healing strangers. I can't go 5 minutes till the flag wears off without getting ganked. if it's not by a 60, its by someone who's not flagged, and I'm oom because I just buffed someone. I can't drink with them standing there. of course there's the flag and jump up and down on whatever i'm looting hoping i'll click on them trick.

And if I call out on the localdefense to come get the guy who just bluerushed me, they can't because he hid and deflagged.

I think they should go further with the pve realms and make no world pvp. Or else, let me get those little punks back :)

I just don't even fight or acknowledge them, they end up going away when they can't get a rise out of me.

I have a 60 undead priest on a pve and my pally is 58 on pvp. For me it is that feeling you get when you are in a good pvp fight (i.e. not a gankfest by 4 60's). On the pve i could just sit in winterspring grinding incessantly to 60 with no one bothering me. It was a bit boring. And yes, if you do flag by mistake you have 20 people jump you and then LOL you like they are badass pk'ers. I think the threat of being jumped at any given moment is one aspect of these games that keeps me coming back.

I have a 60 undead priest on a pve and my pally is 58 on pvp. For me it is that feeling you get when you are in a good pvp fight (i.e. not a gankfest by 4 60's). On the pve i could just sit in winterspring grinding incessantly to 60 with no one bothering me. It was a bit boring. And yes, if you do flag by mistake you have 20 people jump you and then LOL you like they are badass pk'ers. I think the threat of being jumped at any given moment is one aspect of these games that keeps me coming back.

I have a 60 undead priest on a pve and my pally is 58 on pvp. For me it is that feeling you get when you are in a good pvp fight (i.e. not a gankfest by 4 60's). On the pve i could just sit in winterspring grinding incessantly to 60 with no one bothering me. It was a bit boring. And yes, if you do flag by mistake you have 20 people jump you and then LOL you like they are badass pk'ers. I think the threat of being jumped at any given moment is one aspect of these games that keeps me coming back.